Artificial nest project's school link program establishes a newsletter

The Mongolian Artificial Nest Project School Links Programme gives an opportunity for children from Mongolia and other countries to exchange knowledge, culture and language using this unique falcon conservation project as a means of introduction.

The School Links Programme has had a successful start; 10 new schools have joined the link since July 2012, which is great news.

Each school will be supported by the project manager for one year. It is hoped that schools will continue to exchange ideas, resources and knowledge long after the initial support is given. School twinning can enhance the school curriculum and build long-term relationships between children and adults in the partner communities.

A newsletter will be produced every 4 months to give an overview of what is happening in each school and keep teachers, parents and students updated. The program also runs a closed Facebook page for teachers and administrators which is a good way to share ideas and report on progress, but not everyone has access to the internet or Facebook site, the newsletter will help keep everyone informed.

Crane experts visit northeast Mongolia

In summer of 2012, a group of crane experts and conservationists from North America and Europe visited Mongolian northeast to help us to carry out field surveys and public awareness activities on white-naped cranes. The visit was organized with the support from International Crane Foundation led by the co-founder Dr. George Archibald.

There are six species of cranes native to Mongolia. Especially, Mongolia is an important country for the white-naped cranes and more than half of the global population breeds in northeastern Mongolia. Therefore, it is important to monitor crane populations in this country and engage public in conservation. Although cranes are protected by tradition in Mongolia, there are many challenges for the survival of cranes, in particular the wetland-dependent, White-naped Crane.

The field survey covered most breeding locations of white-naped cranes in the region and assessed present situation of this species. Such survey works are very important because survey data will help us to better understand cranes and their habitat requirments, conflicts with free grazing livestock, impacts from drought, and highlight the loss of wetlands in this region. Therefore, the expedition was very critical for Mongolian conservationists and ornithologists.

Project produced a nice calendar and stickers with white-naped crane theme and distributed it to local people and organzied talks and discussions with local kids and protected area people.